Brady's talents include the mundane

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots are back in the AFC Championship Game because of a dominant running attack and an opportunistic defense.

Oh yeah, and Tom Brady too. You know, the guy who filled in as the holder on extra points when the regular got hurt.

In a game in which he became the first player to reach 6,000 yards passing in the postseason, Brady's main offensive roles were to adjust play calls at the line of scrimmage and hand the ball off.

New England rushed for 234 yards and beat the Indianapolis Colts 43-22 on Saturday night to advance to Sunday's game in Denver. The top-seeded Broncos (14-3) moved on with a 24-17 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

The second-seeded Patriots (13-4) got a 73-yard touchdown run from LeGarrette Blount and had four interceptions against Andrew Luck.

"The way our defense is getting the ball for us and, really, what we've done the last three or four weeks (with) the running game has just been awesome," Brady said. "Hopefully, we can do it next week, too."

And if he has to hold again for Stephen Gostkowski? Well, at least he has some experience.

Punter and holder Ryan Allen hurt his shoulder when he raced back after the ball was snapped over his head in the second quarter. It resulted in a safety and the loss of Allen.

When Stevan Ridley scored on a 3-yard run with 6:18 left in the third quarter, the Patriots went for a two-point conversion. Ridley ran the ball in for a 29-15 lead.

"The holder was no factor at all," coach Bill Belichick said Sunday. "We were perfectly comfortable with Tom doing the holding. It was more just the strategic plan of either being up by 13 or being up by 14."

Brady did get two chances to hold on extra points after fourth-quarter touchdowns and, as usual, came through.

He said the last time he held on extra points was in the 2000 Orange Bowl for Michigan. Michigan won 35-34 when Alabama's try for an extra point in overtime failed.

"Maybe I'll try renegotiating my contract or something for doing more work," he said jokingly after Saturday night's win.

Now the Patriots are in their third straight AFC Championship Game with a chance at their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. So Belichick and his assistants must devise plans to move the ball and stop a different playoff opponent.

The Patriots beat the Broncos 34-31 in overtime in Foxborough on Nov. 24 after trailing 24-0 at halftime.

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